Controlling the Harbor

Confederate control of Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and supporting fortifications kept Charleston Harbor open despite the Union blockade. The main ship channel ran between Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie within range of their powerful guns. Confederates built floating booms of timber and rope between the forts, placed mines in the channel, and drove pilings into the channel bottom, leaving a narrow opening for friendly ships. Throughout the war, blockade runners continued to slip past Union warships and bring in supplies the South desperately needed, while ironclads, wary of torpedoes, patrolled near the forts but did not venture into the channel.

South Carolina · United States